Dolores Hansen’s life is crumbling around her. Her little son has been diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, and her marriage has fallen apart as a result. Forced to return to the small town of Meadowbrook to live with her parents, Dolores feels like a failure and a burden on everyone, and must find a way to stand on her own feet.
New minister Chris Tanner is dynamic from the pulpit but painfully shy one-on-one. He is touched by the plight of this young woman and her sick child and vows to do anything he can to help her. As he gets to know her he finds his own courage growing from her strength.
The two soon become close friends, perhaps more than friends. But no good could ever come from a relationship between a divorced woman and a minister; especially in a town as gossip-ridden as Meadowbrook. Could it?
The Story Behind This Book
Dolores and I have a lot in common. I am also on my second marriage. As a Christian, I hung on to my first marriage much longer than I should have, and once it was over I beat myself up over it. I was ready to cloister myself at a very young age so I could be a “good Christian”, whatever that means. I still believe that in God’s perfect will, marriage is meant to be forever. But we live in a fallen world and sometimes things don’t work the way God intended them to work. God isn’t broken, but the world is and people are, and in a broken world with broken people, you have broken and bad relationships. Fortunately, we have a loving, merciful God Who wants us to know Him and wants us to find His perfect way for our lives. He’s not out to punish us. He’s waiting to forgive us and give us a fresh start. I wanted to share that message with others, so I told it through Dolores and Chris and their love story.
